The Single Market Observatory (SMO) of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is cooperating with the European Commission by promoting the Single Market Month, an online event aiming at collecting citizens' findings and ideas for a better Europe, whose four topics will be discussed on the ground during the public hearing it is organizing on 23 September in Saint Julian's, Malta.

The European Economic and Social Committee, composed of representatives of civil society organizations, is an advisory body which, through its membership, is deeply rooted in the everyday life of the Union's citizens. The EESC's Single Market Observatory is a pragmatic instrument designed to feel the pulse of organised civil society in the Member States, to identify where the market's functioning could be improved or where obstacles are preventing citizens from enjoying the full benefits of the market.

One of the credos of the EESC is that the Member States are the owners of European integration but actors on the ground – citizens in general, consumers, workers, businesses in particular – have a direct and essential role to play: their voice can be heard. There are many formal instruments to pass messages: the Committee is one of them. There are many ways to get involved: online debates like the Single Market Month's http://yourideasforeurope.eu are a practical option.

The four topics of the online debate, which the SMO will bring to Malta on that day, are:

1. How to find work, set up a business, or get your qualifications recognised in Europe;

2. What social rights in the EU Single Market?

3. Europe, banks and you;

4. Buying, selling and communicating online.

Mr Christian Cardona, Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business, will open the public hearing. Mr John Bencini, president of the Maltese Economic and Social Council (MCSD), will also address the participants before the debate is opened by Ms Anna Maria Darmanin, president of the Single Market Observatory. The Single Market being work in progress, the SMO will also discuss its opinion on the missing measures in the Single Market Act presented by the rapporteur, Ms Benedicte Federspiel.

The European Economic and Social Committee represents the various economic and social components of organised civil society. It is an institutional consultative body established by the 1957 Treaty of Rome. Its consultative role enables its members, and hence the organisations they represent, to participate in the EU decision-making process. The Committee has 353 members from across Europe, who are appointed by the Council of the European Union.